Living in a box

The boys did have a nasty virus. Had a very high temperature. But a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen constantly for 48hrs kept it under control. He is not completely over it but looks much better. A normal kid illness and happily not one that has affected his chest. Did sleep much less well for a couple of nights with the nagging fear of having to make the middle of the night call for an ambulance. Sounds a bit over-dramatic but we're not used to normal kid stuff.

High temperature made him restless overnight. So, he woke just before 4am and wouldn't go back to sleep. The wife was expecting a troublesome day. But in the event he was cheerful and happy. Even when she left and I took over. Only when it was getting towards bathtime did he show any real signs of tiredness. We tried to shorten his bathtime/bedtime routine. But to no avail. He wanted the full routine.

Select a soft toy to watch him having his bath. Do sliding in the bath before coming out. Soft toy watches him having his trachy tapes changed. He sits at the top of the stairs to wait for the nurse. He helps her wash her hands. They play a throwing game with cushions. Turn the lights down and play with torches. Then I connect his feed and read him a story. Only then does he lie down for his nebuliser and settle to sleep.

He yawned whilst getting undressed for the bath but wanted to continue as normal. He was very unsteady on his feet whilst walking to the bedroom after helping the nurse wash her hands but wanted to continue as normal. He refused to lie down to have his story read and wanted to continue to sit up as normal. He was cleaning his gastro while I was reading. He started to sway. I asked if he wanted to lie down. He vigorously shook his head no. But his head started to loll. In a rather cartoon-like moment, I flicked his shoulder and he gracefully, slowly fell into the pillow. And was asleep before impact.